A Protective Uncle Thing
by StruckkByColfer
Summary: Honestly, Jake didn't really even know why he was looking for Cassandra. He didn't need her for anything. There was no mission, no work to be done. Everyone was still milling about the annex so he had plenty of company, but Jake just liked knowing where Cassandra was.


He found her curled up in her favourite spot.

Honestly, Jake didn't really even know why he was looking for Cassandra. He didn't need her for anything. There was no mission, no work to be done. Everyone was still milling about the annex so he had plenty of company, but Jake just liked knowing where Cassandra was.

It wasn't that he didn't trust her. After the adventures they had shared over the past six months, Jake had grown to trust the red headed Librarian, at least more than he had originally. It still hurt, thinking about what Cassandra had done when they first met, and Jake knew that he had his own issues to work through, but things were progressing and Cassandra was definitely someone he could count on.

No, it was that he liked knowing that she was safe. Jake didn't fully understand that, either. He knew Cassandra could take care of herself. He had witnessed it many times. If anything, Jake considered Cassandra the strongest of the LITs. Dying wasn't a new concept for her. It was something she had to face head on since she was fifteen years old. For Jake and Ezekiel, becoming a Librarian meant that they might have to face an early death. For Cassandra, however, it just meant that her inevitable death might be that of a hero rather than the result of her tumour.

Still, Jake just liked knowing she was safe. Cassandra was strong, she didn't need Jake to look out for her, but he still hated seeing her in pain. He wanted to make sure that she knew he was there if she ever needed him. If there was ever anything he could do to ease her pain, or somehow make it more tolerable, he would do it in a heartbeat.

"_You like her." _he thought to himself, but quickly pushed the idea away. He didn't actually like her, did he?

He found her curled up in her favourite spot, deep in the stacks of the annex's balcony. She always came here when she needed some time to herself, whether her visions were getting too much or she just needed some quiet time. Cassandra seemed happy, her nose buried in a book and a smile on her face. She was obviously enjoying the story. Jake had planned to sneak away quietly before she noticed he was there, now that he had confirmation that she was okay.

But that was before he noticed the cover of the book she was reading. He smiled to himself, of course she would be reading that. Without thinking, Jake started to whistle those four notes that he hoped she recognized. Surely she would, the movie had been released years ago. Even if she hadn't watched it, she would have seen commercials. Everyone knew those notes now.

Cassandra looked up with a start and smiled when she saw Jake.

"That's a good book," he said, nodding at the book she was holding.

Cassandra looked at him with a slight look of surprise and a lot of excitement. "You've read The Hunger Games?"

Jake nodded. "I have a niece that loves to read. I buy her a lot of books, but I usually end up reading them before I give them to her."

Cassandra closed the book and set it on her lap. "So is that a protective uncle sort of thing, or do you read them because you're actually interested in them?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

Now that she seemed more interested in their conversation than her book, Jake sat down beside her. "_Not too close"_ he found himself thinking, and then questioned why he would even think such a thing. He never thought about how close he was sitting to Ezekiel or Baird. Why were things different with Cassie?

"I wish I could tell you it was a protective uncle thing. That would certainly be less embarrassing. But honestly, I just like to read, and some of the best books I've read were written for teenagers."

"I wish I had a book like this when I was growing up. My parents were very cautious about what I read. Except for a few classics they only let me read non fiction." Cassandra looked down at the book in her lap and smiled.

Jake nodded in understanding. "If my family knew how much I loved reading as a kid, I never would have heard the end of it. When other boys my age were hiding Playboys under their mattress, I was hiding The Complete Collection of Sherlock Holmes."

Cassandra smiled. "That's one of the few fictional characters my parents actually let me read about. You kept it under your mattress?" She tried to imagine how such a large book would fit under a mattress.

Jake shrugged. "I was fourteen, I didn't know of any creative ways to hide things yet. My parents probably just thought I had a huge porn collection."

Cassandra laughed at that. "And it was really less embarrassing for you to let them believe that than the truth?" she teased.

Jake smiled. He loved the sound of Cassandra's laugh, and he loved it even more when he was the one causing that sound. "_What is wrong with you?" _he thought to himself.

"Like I said, I was fourteen. I didn't really think things through."

Cassandra looked down at the book in her lap, and then back at Jake. "So tell me, Jacob Stone. What other books have you bought for your niece?"

"The rest of the Hunger Games trilogy, the Divergent books, several John Green books…" he paused for a moment and looked over at Cassandra, who had an expectant look on her face.

"And?" she asked.

"I know what you're getting at, Cassie." Jake smirked at her. "Yes, I bought the dang Twilight books for her."

Cassandra giggled at that, and her reaction made his embarrassing confession more than worth it. "And did she enjoy them?"

Jake hesitated, carefully selecting his words. "More than..._she_ cares to admit, but not enough to read them again." he winked.

Cassandra laughed again, music to Jake's ears. "_You like her." _He thought again. These thoughts were getting harder to ignore.

"Hey, Cassie?" Jake started to say. Cassie looked up at him, her eyes meeting with his. There was so much he wanted to say to her. So much he couldn't say. He was so tempted to just reach over and kiss her. Didn't Katniss do that to Peeta at one point? Cassandra would probably like that.

"Yeah, Jake?" Cassandra asked, curiously.

"_This is your chance. Don't think, just do." _Jake thought to himself.

"Um, I better head back downstairs, I uh, have some work to finish. I'll let you get back to your readin'." Jake said as he stood up, silently cursing himself the entire time.

He figured he was probably reading too much into it, but Cassie looked almost heartbroken. However, she nodded and picked up her book again.

Jake had only gotten a few feet away when he got tired of listening to his brain call him an idiot. He stopped in his tracks and turned back to Cassandra.

"Have you seen the movie?" he asked the first thing that came to his mind.

Cassandra looked up. "The Hunger Games movie?" Jake nodded. "No, I still have a few chapters left, and I always like to read the book first."

Jake smiled at that. "It's...it's a good movie. You know, as far as movie adaptations go. It's on Netflix, for when you're done."

"I might just have to watch it when I get home then." Cassandra smiled just slightly.

Jake hesitated again. Why was this so hard? "You know, it's been awhile since I watched it. If you wanted to, we could head back to my place when you're done readin'. Maybe order a pizza?"

Cassandra smiled, much bigger this time. "Well, it would be nice not to have to share a pizza with Ezekiel for once. He never leaves enough for anyone else."

It was Jake's turn to laugh. "I'll leave you to finish up, then. I don't want to spoil that ending for you."

Jake turned and walked away for real this time, but he sneaked a glance back at Cassie when he knew he was far enough away that she wouldn't notice. She had returned to reading but even with her face half hidden behind the book, Jake could tell that she had a huge smile plastered on her face.


End file.
